Xenaphin
PROLOGUE In the pitch black night skies of Xenaphin lie stars. Little, white, five pointed stars. These stars illuminated the night, giving guidance to travellers and giving people something to adore every night. These stars were known as the galaxy's most beautiful stars. Nothing bad ever happened to these stars. But, something went wrong. Only a few months ago were the stars beginning to disappear. No one knew why that was happening. Every month, the stars kept vanishing. As the days passed, the stars kept decreasing. And they kept decreasing until there were only 92 thousand left. A period of no disappearances followed, ending after a month. The stars began a sharp decrease. After 3 months, there were only 26,000 left. And, they kept decreasing. Some people wanted to find the source of the disappearances. They studied changing patterns. They took records of each disappearance. Still, the stars wouldn't stop. One of these people, named Johnston, woke up one night to take another record of the stars. He was a tall, but average sized, man, with short and wavy blond hair. He was known as one of Xenaphin's renouned scientists, having taken the most explanatory records of the stars. This night felt much different to Johnston. He had chills rush up his spine every 3 minutes. A look of uncertainty was glued to his face. This usually never plaqued the scientist. All he knew was that this night was much different than before. And, a chill slithers up the man's spine when a shrub in the distance shakes, leaves falling to the ground. Johnston's initial reaction is to run away. ''But'', he ponders, ''this may be a robber. I mustn't let him take my family from me. If he wants my family, he's going through me.'' The scientist packs up his gear, and silently places it in his porch. Next to a cupboard is an arsenal of 4 weapons, 3 of them rifles. He grabs one of them, and grabs a magazine placed on the cupboard. Johnston silently strides to the shrub, loading the ammunition into his weapon with each step. The darkness of the night makes visibility a challenge. A drop of sweat rolls down Johnston's neck. He aims his gun at the moving bush. "Hey." He orders coldly. "Get out of my bush. Get away from my home. And tell all your friends that if they're coming here, they'll deal with me." The bush shakes violently. Johnston's aim begins losing strength when the bush stops moving. Suddenly, a small, brown, and harmless squirrel makes its way out. Johnston releases a sigh of relief. "Oh good. It's a squirrel." He sighs. The scientist takes the squirrel, and places him on the grassy ground. "Go home." He quietly sighs, when the bush shakes again. How is it shaking again? He had just coaxed the squirrel away. But, this isn't a squirrel. The bush is violently rumbling. Johnston aims his gun again. "I told you to leave my family alone!" He shouts. "Get awa-" Suddenly, something jumps out at him, a shrill scream being released. Claws fly directly towards Johnston. The creature knocks Johnston over, hideous teeth bared directly in his face. "AHHHHHHH!" screams Johnston as another star goes dark. CHAPTER 1 "Doctor?" asks companion Jo Grant. "Where are we going today?" The Doctor looks up from the TARDIS console, a frustrated look cemented in his eyes. "I'm unsure." The Doctor responds. "The TARDIS isn't giving me a certain location." He lowers his head down to the console. As the Doctor presses some buttons and flips switches, Jo walks to a chair positioned northwest of the console. She sighs as she takes a seat, the chair groaning as she relaxes into it. Jo strokes her light gold hair, watching the Doctor stroll around the console. "This isn't like her." The Doctor murmurs. "I think she's malfunctioning." "Who's malfunctioning?" asks the Brigadier, strolling into the room. "The TARDIS, of course!" The Doctor responds sharply. "She's not giving me a location in time nor space." Jo takes off her purple fur coat, and places it on the TARDIS coat rack. A white shirt lay underneath. She strolls over to the Doctor. "Doctor, don't scold him." Jo scolds the Doctor. "The Brigadier doesn't entirely understand your relationship with the Ship." She places her arm on a part of the off-white console. "In all the time we studied the ship," the Brigadier argues. "I have never known that you would refer to the ship as a person." The Doctor sighs. "The TARDIS is sentient. She always takes me where I need to go." "Hmm." The Brig mutters. He slowly walks up to the TARDIS, his leather shoes squeaking as he walks up to the console. "Hello, dear girl." The Brig whispers to the TARDIS, placing a hand on the TARDIS. "You must like her, do you, Brigadier?" Jo teases the Doctor's close friend. "Hmm? No, I'm just taking a nice approach for her." He responds. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I need some silence, please." The Doctor intrudes, stroking his silver hair. The Doctor turns more switches and presses another button when his age old eyes notice something on the scanner. "Doctor?" asks the Brigadier. "Doctor, what's wrong?" The Time Lord ignores him, trying to solve the issue himself. "Doctor, answer him!" Jo commands her friend. The Doctor finally looks up at his companions, and clears his throat. "The navigational systems are telling me that we're making a forced materialization on an unspecified planet." He announces. "I don't know when or where we're landing!" "Is that bad?" She asks the Doctor. "Jo, of course it is! A forced materialization will result in damage to the exterior of the TARDIS, and a very rough landing." He responds. "We must find something to hold on to so we can prevent injuries." The Brig enquires. "Hold on to the console." The Doctor answers. "The TARDIS has been in rough landings before, and I've always held onto the console to prevent the slightest injury. Jo takes hold of a long and thin switch, and the Brig holds onto a stationary switch. Suddenly, the control room tilts to the right and to the left in a jerking motion, the Doctor and his companions all flying around the TARDIS' room. The Doctor hits his back on the time rotor, letting out a scream. His body falls to the floor. "What's happening?" The Brig shouts. "The TARDIS is experiencing some sort of a mechanical failure!" The Doctor exclaims. "HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" The vessel takes a sharp turn to the right, the time rotor moving faster than before. Sparks and little explosions erupt from the TARDIS console as the lights in the room flicker fast. Jo crashes into the chair, making such an impact that it knocks her unconscious. Her purple fur sweater gets flung off of the rack. The Brigadier is propelled back first into the pillar under the console, going unconscious right on impact. The Doctor throws his right arm up on the console. He throws another arm onto it. Groaning as he tries standing, The Doctor finally stands back up, his blue suit ripped on a lapel. He makes it to the scanner, but all he can see is one big word, highlighted in red. '''CRASHING!''' "Oh no!" the Doctor cries before another jerk to the left flings the Doctor away from the console, hitting a wall that knocks him unconscious. The room keeps moving quickly and suddenly. Only a minute after the Doctor and his companions were knocked out did the TARDIS crash, sending its occupants' bodies flying once more. The TARDIS finally comes to rest after a very rough crash on a dirt ground, tearing up plants until it finally comes to rest in a deep, vividly colored forest, lost in an unknown planet. CHAPTER 2